Dispenser package



July 5, 1960 D. L. ARNOLD 2,944,124

DISPENSER PACKAGE Filed oct. 1e, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 34 4)0 46 INVENTOR.

fz 7.5. amid L. Anwd MY 5 1960 D. L. ARNOLD 2,944,124

DISPENSER PACKAGE Filed oct. 16, 19549 2l sheets-sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Ewald L. Anzahl H77' RNEY 2,944,124 DISPENSER PACKAGE Donald L. Arnold, Emporium, Pa., assignor to Sylvania Electric Products luc., a corporation of Deiaware Filed oct. 16, 1959, ser. No. 846,869

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The present invention relates to dispenser packages, and more specifically to those packages which are provided with indicia uncovered by removal of articles from the package to denote the number of units remaining in `the package.

In particular, the invention relates to a package with articles arranged therein in stacked relation, and with at least one other stack of articles arranged in back of the iirst stack, there being a movable partition or pad behind each stack.

lt is an object of the invention to provide a package inluding at least two stacks of articles, arrangedone stack behind the other, with a partition or pad between the stacks and with the partition behind the rearrnost stack in the forin bf a follower which is urged forwardly to shift the rearmost stack Iforwardly when a front stack has been removed from the package.

lt `is a further object of the invention to provide the partitions or pads with indicia, to be exposed by article removal, to indicate to an observer the number of articles remaining in the package. i

By way of illustration of the invention, and not as limitive thereof, the articles here shown are kits or packets of five 'cartoned electron tubes, 4the .packets being stacked on one another, with two stacks of packets, one behind the other. Obviously, as will be apparent upon further reading of the specification, more than two stacks of articles may be provided in following the teachings of the invention.

ln the illustrated embodiment of theinvention,

`Fig. l is a Vperspective view of an unopened package.

Fig. 2 is an enplodediview of the package.

Pig. 3 is a View of the package opened for dispensing of tube cartons and of packets, a number of front packets having been removed.

i t Fig. 4 is Ia perspective View of a package with all of the front packets, Va pad, and a number of moved, parts being broken away, andv Fig. 5- is a plan View of the blank from which the outer container is formed.

`Now referring to the drawings in greater detail, at 16 is `shown `the outer container, housing within it a smooth faced tripartite iiller sheet lf2, a pair of corrugated buffer sheets it, a backfpartition 16 in the form of a follower, `a-front:partition i8, and packets 2t) consisting of open rear packets reended boxes 22 and cartons 24 each containing, for example, an electron tube.

The blank from which the outer `container is formed is shown in Fig. 5. it is made of corrugated cardboard, as thick as may be desired. The corrugated cardboard has a back panel 3i? with two wing portions 324 and 34 to form parts of the sidesof `thecOiit'ainer, a top panel 36 with side wing portions 35i and 46, a front panel 42 with two` wing portions t4 and 46 to cooperate with wing portions S?. and 34 to complete the sides of the container and a bottom panel 43 with side wing portions Sil and 52. In the completed closed carton, the side portions 38, 40, 50

12,944,124 Patented July 5, i960 and 52 lie within and are in glued contact with the side portions 32, 34, 44 and 46, and paper or fabric ribbons 47 are taped over the abutting edges of the side Wing portions of the carton as Well as over the junction between the free edge of the bottom panel and the lower edge of the rear panel, as indicated at 49. The blank is slotted as indicated at 54 to `facilitate bending back of the respective aps and is scored at the lines S6, also to facilitate such bending. It is further scored substantially midway of the top panel as indicated at 58. To provide an access opening to the completed container, the blank is lslit at what will be the lower portion of the front panel, as indicated at 6i), and perforated vertically of the front panel as well as along the upper edge of the front panel and part way back on the top panel edge, as indicated at 62, all to provide a tongue 64. When it is desired to gain access to the contents of the closed package, the lower end of the tongue is brought out at the slit portion 60, as by inserting a blade in the slit and pulling the tongue, and the tongue is ripped up to the top panel, whereat it is torn oi. Then the forward half o'f the top panel is torn at the perforated lines 62 and `bent back about the score line 58 in the top panel, as will be clear from a consideration of Fig. 3.

To protect the tubes in the cartons against breakage due to lateral pressures, there 'is positioned within the container and in juxtapositionto each "of the side panels ofthe container, the corrugated butter cardboard sheet 14, the 'same being equal in size to the inner dimensions of Athe side panels and of suitable thickness. vrlhen to provide `for ease in assembling an entire group of'packets 'within the container there is provided `the stimip likefsmoth surfaced tripartite cardboard sheet 12 having a bottom portion substantially equal to 4the inner 'forward Vto back dimension of the bottom panel and two vertical side portions to substantially lie against 'and cover the inner faces of the buffer sheets. If desired the assembly of shee`ts`14 and i2 may be replaced by asingle tripartite corrugated sheet bent like the sheet l2 and provided with an linner smooth face.

The cartons 24 are parallelepipeds and are arranged ve 4in a horizontal row in `albox 22, each Yboit being 'rectangular in vertical cross section and provided with an open front. Each of the boxes is 'of a siz'e t'o accommodate tive of the cartons with tubes therein, andthe cartons are of a depth front to back Vgreater than'the'forwardfto rear dimension of the box 22. `so that a tube carton 'e'an easily be grasped by thengers to lbe pulled fromthe box. In between thefront and rear stacks of packets is `the vertical partition plate or pad 'liSof Ycorrugated cardboard of a size to slide forward easily between the veritic'al'walls of the tripartite cardboard l2 and marked with a vertical column of indicia. Where there are iive'cartons laterally Vin a box and ten boxes in a vertical stack -to till the vertif cal height of the container, there would `be iifty cartons in a stack. ln two stacks, lone back ofthe other, there would be ia hundred cartons. `With such an arrangement the partition or card 18 would have the l-nu"rnb'er`s`95, 90, down to S0 arranged thereon in arithmetic-al progres sion and with the indicia spaced apart so that 'they are centrally behind backs of each of the 'packets 2th While originally there are l0() 4tube ca'rtonsfin the con# tainer, when the iirst available packet is removed, ie. the front top packet, the number ,would be exposed indicating that there are 95 cartons left in theicontainer. Obviously the complements of'wthe number with respect to too mat/tensed `instemt of the numbers manly shown t advise one how may tubes have been removed,

rather than how many remain. 'When the last of the 3 remain in thecontainer.

removed. v

In back of the last stack of packets, in the illustrated species of the invention, in back of the second stack of packets, is'the partition 16 with numbers in arithmetical progression thereon, as 45 to .0, corresponding in spacing .to the numbers 95 to 50 on the front card or partition 18. The partition 16 is in the nature of a follower and continuously urges the packets in the package toward the front of the container. For this purpose, conveniently, the back partition 16 may be made integral with a pleated corrugated cardboard as shown at 66, with sufficient springiness at the edges ofthe pleats to continuously urge the packets and interleaved vertical cards, as card 18, toward the front ofthe container. The free edges of the pleated portions ofthe cardboard react against the back panel 30 of the container while the forward face of the cardboard presses against the backs of the boxes 22 in the rearward stack of packets. When the forward stack of 'packets is dispensed completely, the back partition plate is thrust forward, pushing the packets of the rearward row and the front partition toward the front of the container'.

Now the front card 18 may be The forward thrust of the packets is arrested by engagement of the front partition, or ifthe partition has been removed, by engagement of cartons in the then forward stack,V with the flange portions of the front wall of the container.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: f

1.,A package comprising an outer container, vertical stacks yof front and rear packetswithinthe outer container, `a vertical partition between the front and rear vstacks of packets, 'Y said partition being unattached to the container and the packets, a rear vertical follower partition behind the rear stack of packets, and means urging said follower partition against the rear stackA of packets.

2. A package containing packets, said package comprising an outer container in the form of a parallelepipedon, Y y

the front wall of the container having an opening extending 'from the bottom thereof to the top of the wall, the sides of the lopening of the front panel forming abutment walls, the top of the package being partially open to per- -mit5removal Vof packets from the container, said packets being arranged in vertical stacks one behind the other, an unattached :vertical partition Vbetween the front and rear stacks 'of packets, la rear'follower partition behind the rear stack-of packets,vand means urging said rear partition against the rear stack of packets.

3. A package comprising an outer container, vertical stacks of front and rear packets Within the outer container, a vertical unattached partition between the front and, rearstacks of packets, and a rear follower partition behind the rear stack of packets, said rear follower partition comprising a pleated resilient sheet of cardboard reacting .within theouter container between the lrear wall of the container and the rear stack of packets.

4. A packagevcomprising an outer container, vertical lstacks of front and rear packets within the outer container, said container having an Vopen front wall to expose the container contents, an unattached partition between the front and rear stacks of packets, said partition having arranged thereon in'a vertical column on the front face thereof aY series of numbers in arithmetical progression withV the numbers spaced vertically Yapart the height of the packets, and means urging the packets and partition toward the front of the container. l

-5. A package comprising Yan outer container, vertical stacks of front and rear packets within the outer container, saidvcontainer havingian open front wall and an open top near the front of the container to enable easy removal of packets from the container, an unattached partition between the front and rear stacks of packets, said partition having arranged thereon in a vertical column, on the front face thereof, a series of numbers in downward arithmetical progression with the numbers spaced vertically apart the height of the packets, and means urging the packets and partition toward the front of the container.

6. A package comprising an outer container, vertical stacks of front and rear packets within the container, saidV container having an open front wall to expose the container contents, an unattached partition between the front and rear stacks of packets, said partition having arranged thereon in a vertical column, on the front face thereof, a series of numbers in arithmetical progression with the numbers vertically spaced apart the height of the packets, and a follower partition having on its front face a similar spaced series of numbers, said follower partition resiliently reacting between the rear wall of the container and the rear stack of packets to urgethe stacks of packets and unattached partition toward the front of the container.

7. A package comprising an outer container, vertical stacks of front and rear packets within the container, said container having an open front wall to expose the container contents, an unattached partition between the front and rear stacks of packets, said partition having arranged thereon in a vertical column on the front face thereof, a series of numbers in arithmetical4 progression withthe numbers vertically spaced apart the height of the packets, a follower partition having on its front face a similar spaced series of numbers, said follower partition resiliently reacting between the rear wall of the container and therrear stack of packetsto urge the stacks of packets and unattached partition toward the front of the container, and Va smooth faced sheet, U shaped in verticalY cross section, interposed between the packets and walls of the container, to enable easy sliding of the stacks of packets within the container. Y

8. A package comprising an outer container, vertical stacks of front and rear packets within the container, said container having an open front wall, the wall providing at least side portions against whichV side portions,of the packets within the container may bear and the area between the side portions being open to expose the front packets, an unattached partition between the front and rear stacks of packets, and a follower partition, said follower partition resiliently reacting between the rear wall of the container and the rear stack of packets to urge the stacks of packets and unattached partition toward the `front of the container until motion isV arrested by abutment with the side portions ofthe front wall.k

9. A package comprising an outer container,'vertical stacksY ofV front and rear packets within Ithe container, said container having an open front wall, at least side portions against which side portions of Y the packets within the container may bear and the area 'between the side portions being open toV expose Hthe front packets, an unattached partitionV between the frontand rear stacks .of packets, saidV partition havingrarr'anged thereon in a vertical column on the front face thereof, a series of numbers in arithmetical progression with the numbers spaced apart the height of the packets, and a follower partition having on itsfront face a similar spaced series of numbers, said yfollower partition resiliently reacting between the rear wall of the container and the rear stack of packets to urge the stacks of packets and unattached partition toward Ythe front of the container until motion is arrested by abutment with the side portions of the front wall.

No references cited.

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